1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to an insulated concrete form wall building system and more particularly to a form provided by expanded polystyrene sidewalls between which channels are formed and into which concrete in slurry form is poured and thereby become a part of the permanent wall structure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of insulated concrete form wall building systems has been known for several decades as a means of eliminating the use of metal or wooden forms for the onsite construction of concrete walls for buildings. Although the use of metal or wooden forms provides a reliable means for making wall structures, such use suffers from the disadvantage that the forms are cumbersome and awkward to use and they must be removed after the concrete is sufficiently hard to allow their removal so that they do not end up forming a part of the wall structure. Such activity is labor intensive and particularly results in a substantial amount of on site labor in positioning the forms for pouring of the concrete.
Currently, competitive insulated concrete form building systems employ the use of expanded polystyrene material and fall into two basic categories, block style and sheet style. Block style systems use a molded expanded polystyrene building block system which is stacked in a building block configuration to form the concrete walls. The block style systems are easy to use, but they require a substantial amount of on site labor to assemble. The blocks typically incorporate internal clips or brackets that are designed to strengthen the joints therebetween. One of the principal disadvantages of the block style systems is that they do not readily accommodate openings for windows or doors, which limits their practical use primarily to separate wall systems or simple structures such as garages.
The sheets style systems use two molded expanded polystyrene sheets, one on each side of the form. Typically, the sheets are held apart by system of clips or brackets that have to be assembled on the job site and is cumbersome and labor intensive. Various methods of sealing the joints between the sheet systems have been devised but again they are all labor intensive. None of the sheet systems incorporate features for easily placing windows or doors, again resulting in costly on site labor. Another major disadvantage that both competitive systems suffer from is that they do not support the concrete without additional bracing (external forms or shoring) in order to prevent the concrete from breaking through the forms when it is poured.
Although competitive insulated concrete form systems have many shortcomings, they are gaining acceptance in the industry because of the energy savings and comfort they bring to the building structure. The use of competitive systems have been sold on their energy saving merits alone. Also, building codes are requiring insulation on the basement and foundation walls. Thus, insulated concrete form systems have been experiencing particularly increased acceptance as systems for building basements and foundation walls even though they do not provide any savings, from a construction labor standpoint, over conventional construction methods. However, their acceptance by large contractors or developers is still fairly limited.
The present invention provides an insulated concrete form building system that significantly decreases the amount of on site labor required and provides for a system in which windows and doors are readily accommodated.